2011 Macbook Pro boots, all keys seem to function, blank screen

Yesterday at around 5pm EST my Macbook Pro (2011 model with the AMD Radeon HD 6750M) froze while browsing the internet (specifically XDA-Developers). This wasn't a normal " freeze" were it starts responding after a few minutes. Nothing would function, the caps lock key wouldn't light up, etc. Naturally, I held down the power button and shut my laptop down assuming it would work upon rebooting. Unfortunately when it started booting it just got stuck on the gray screen sans Apple logo. Now this is where things got weirder:

I tried turning it on again, but nothing happened. I didn't get any chime or anything. I began looking up troubleshooting guidelines on the internet and reset PRAM, NVRAM, SEC etc. Occasionally I would get it to boot and I tried booting into my Windows 7 partition, but it just stalled on the Windows 7 starting logo. After this I had continued problems where sometimes the screen would display vertical lines ontop of the gray screen, horizontal lines covering the bottom half of the screen while constantly making the booting noise but not actually changing, and just not turning on at all.

Finally I let it sit for awhile and turned it on. I got the chime and decided to just let it be, thinking it might fix itself. Now, all my keys work, I can change the volume and hear it and I can even play/pause a song through the respective button. Unfortunately, the screen is just completely off, no backlight at all.

I know this isn't the Nvidia issue since I have an AMD graphics card, but I have run out of options. I booked an appointment at an Apple store, but I'd prefer to fix it myself. It seems like it is a problem with the graphics card though, maybe a loose connection. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? I typed this on my phone BTW, so sorry for any typos (I tried to correct everything).

Were you able to perform a Safe Boot? What you're describing could be a hardware or software issue. If you're able to do a Safe Boot, it's more likely a software issue. To perform a Safe Boot, hold the Shift key down right after you hit the power button and keep holding it down until a horizontal bar appears below the Apple on the gray screen. This will perform special diagnositics/fixes and boot the Mac with only essential kernel extensions.

The vertical/horizontal lines are, however, really suggestive of a hardware problem, like a video card defect or defect in the connection of the computer to the display.

More Like This

Retrieving data ...

This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.
Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums.
Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site. All postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the Apple Support Communities Terms of Use.